Battle Ax
by St Vladimir Dracula
Summary: Clarke Bellamy
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**

 **Clarke**

The distant sound of the fire crackling was the only sound Clarke could hear as she

cleaned Murphy's wounds. The grounders had tortured him so badly, she wondered how

he was even able to move at all. Everyone - including Murphy - had long ago fallen

asleep. She hadn't been able to sleep since she'd seen Finn and Raven disappear into

their tent, hand in hand. She wished that Finn had told her about Raven before they had

slept together, because maybe then she wouldn't feel so terrible every time she looked

at Raven. "What are you doing?" Bellamy asked as he entered the drop ship.

She sighed inwardly, she didn't feel like speaking to anyone right now, least of all him. "I'm just cleaning his wounds, the grounders beat him up pretty badly." she said curtly,

and returned to her previous task. Without a second's hesitation, Bellamy took two

strides and kneeled down next to her. "They beat him up just to use him as a weapon," he said, but the disdain in his voice was clear, "he can't stay here, Clarke." "He helped us

with rounding up the sick!" she argued, but he wasn't having it. "He's the one who

brought the virus in, and let's not forget about what he did to Charlotte," he said, and

she jerked. "What about what I did to Charlotte, I don't see you punishing me?" she said, but

thought about the way she punished herself every time she remembered the little girl. "You weren't the one holding a knife to your throat, Clarke. He didn't think of you, and

he didn't think of her, so I won't be thinking about him when I shove a knife through his

chest." he said, and she grabbed his forearm, to keep him from lunging at Murphy. "Look,

we all know what he did, but everyone deserves a second chance. You of all people

should know that." she said, and he looked at her, then to her hand on his arm and back

to her.

She let go of him and continued to clean Murphy's cuts. Bellamy was so silent that

she had forgotten he was there until he spoke again. "What are you doing up this late

anyway?" he asked, his tone a little less harsh as he spoke to her. "I could ask you the

same question," she shot back, as she stood up and wiped her hands on her jeans. His

face turned annoyed and she knew it could only mean one thing. "Octavia snuck out

again," he said, with an frustrated sigh. "But I thought Lincoln left?" she asked, remembering the way Octavia had stormed

past them, her hair furiously whipping behind her as she pushed past them and reported

the news that the grounder that had once been their prisoner had disappeared without

a trace. "That's not going to stop her from looking for him, now is it?" he said, and for

the first time she noticed the backpack slung across his left shoulder, and the battle ax in

his hand. "What are you going to do if you find them in a compromising position, kill him?"

she asked, and watched the dimples barely appear in his cheeks. "I've been debating it

for a while." he said, his smile turning almost playful and she laughed a little. "And don't

think I didn't notice the way you changed the subject," he said, and she rolled her eyes, "does this have anything to do with Pretty Boy and his little Bird?" "This has nothing to

do with Finn." she said, stopping to face him, even though she had to tilt her chin to look

straight into his face. "I think it has everything to do with him, Princess." he said, raising an eyebrow at

her; they were now standing in the middle of camp, next to the dying fire. "So what," she

said, a bit too loudly and softened her voice, "so what if this is about Finn, it doesn't

matter anymore? What happened shouldn't have happened, end of story...and why am I

even telling you this?" she asked, and his smile spread a little wider. They stayed like that

for a while, until he cleared his throat and she looked down at the tips of her boots. "I'm heading out," he said, and saluted her and he began walking towards the wall's

exit. As she watched him walk away, she called out, "Good luck with that." Right before

he could step outside of the camp, and stopped and turned to look at her. "Unless you

want to come with me?" he asked. She was a little surprised by the offer, but not

completely sure if she would say no. She remembered the look on Finn's face when her

and Bellamy had come back from their supply trip as something close to friends.

Shaking her head slightly at the thought of Finn, she returned to the present

conversation. "Are you sure, I won't be slowing you down, will I?" she asked, and he

shook his head. She hesitated for a few more second before she nodded, "Let me get my

bag." Turning, she ran back to the drop ship and picked up her own backpack and filled it

with a few supplies - a blanket, food, and a knife that she had no idea how to use - before slinging it over her shoulders and following Bellamy to the wall. "Let's go." she said, and the left, starting into the forest and plunging into the

darkness.

The only light they had was the moonlight, and thankfully it was a full moon that

shone brightly. Even with this, Clarke seemed to find herself tripping on uneven parts of

the ground, but she never fell. This made her wonder how Bellamy - who was a few

paces ahead of her - seemed as if he could see through the darkness. "How do you know

if we're going the right way?" she asked, wondering how long they had been out here. It

felt like an extremely long time - like hours - or maybe it was just because she was

running on almost zero sleep for the last few days. "He usually leaves flowers behind for her to follow, I followed her out here that night

with..." he let his sentence trail off, and for that she was thankfully. "So this was my first

guess, I'm hoping to find footprints or something." he said, and as if it were rolling off

him in waves, she could feel his anxiety mixed with frustration. "At least you know she's

safe," Clarke said, almost tripping again, "he'd never let anything happen to her." She

didn't like the idea of Octavia running off with a grounder, but she was a hell of a lot

safer than the rest of them. "It's not him I'm worried about anymore. Since the bridge, we've been on high alert

for grounder attacks, and with her sneaking out so late, what's stopping them from

taking her. Yes, Lincoln can protect her, but he's just one to how many of them? I don't

trust those odds." he said, and she admired him a little more. They walked further in

silence, not speaking, just tracking until it felt like her legs were so stiff that she almost

fell over, had he not caught her before she could face-plant into the dirt. "Come on, Princess, there's a lake just up ahead, we can have some water as you

can rest." he said, and she forced herself to get up and follow him.

He was right though,because not a while later they were sitting by the lake and she was gathering water in a

flask. Rolling her jeans up, until they were above her knees, she placed her legs in the

water and sighed contently. Without thinking, she closed her eyes and asked him, "What's it like to have a sibling?" It was something that she had always secretly

wondered about. The closest thing to a sibling she ever had was Wells, and he was gone

now.

He made a noise in the back of his throat as he sat down next to her on the rock, but

didn't place his feet in the water. "It's kind of like having a piece of yourself that's

completely different to who you are, a part you can't control. It kind of frustrates you,

but you do all you can to protect it, keep it safe, because you don't have anything else.

There's not a time I don't remember Octavia, my life ended and began the day she was

born." he leaned back, and looked up at the sky.

They stayed like that, until she felt like it was time they had to start moving again. "C'mon, let's get moving." she said, getting up and rolling down her jeans and lacing up

her boots. He stood up and grabbed both of their backpacks, before handing hers over.

They started walking, and didn't stop until they heard a crack and stopped short, looking

at each other sharply as if wondering if they had both heard it, which they had. Their

was a soft whoosh of air, as an arrow whizzed past her head.

They both instinctively dropped to the ground, covering their heads. "We have to

get out of here!" he called to her, and she moved to a squatting position, and carefully

made her way over to him, while managing to dodge the arrows heading her way. They

both ducked behind a large tree and tried to make a run for it, but arrows were flying

and hitting just a few centimeters away from their ankles. They needed a way out, and

they needed it now.

Looking around frantically, she realized the only way they would be able to make it

out alive. "Bellamy, we have to climb." she said, pointing to a low hanging branch. He

looked at her and then at the branch. "If I go first and fall, I'll crush you!" he said, but she

was already pushing him away. "Then don't fall!" she said, and didn't give him time to

reply as she shoved him at the tree. He started climbing and she was about to follow,

when as arrow whizzed past her arm and she quickly hide behind the trunk. "Clarke, come on!" Bellamy called, his hand outstretched to pull her up as he

hovered over her head. She quickly grabbed it and began to climb behind him, and

instinctively jerked as arrows hit the trunk. Bellamy was already on the highest branch,

the dark leaves acting as camouflage. She stopped on the branch bellow him, where her

face was angled with his chest. "When need to see where they're coming from." he said,

looking out at the trees.

The attack had seized, but that didn't mean the grounders were done with them,

just looking for a new point of attack. Clarke riskily stuck herself out around the branch,

and before Bellamy could pull her back, arrows came flying at her head. She ducked and

pressed her back against the trunk, breathing heavily. "What the hell are you doing?!" he

whisper-shouted, but she ignored him. "There's about three of them, one in the tree

directly opposite us, another just north-east and the other is somewhere on the west

side."Do you have any weapons?" he asked her. "I have a knife in my bag," she said. "Doyou have any idea how to throw a knife?" he asked, but he looked like he already knew

the answer to that question, and cursed softly. "Don't worry, I know what to do," she

said, and began climbing down when he wrapped his fingers around her wrist and held

her there. "What the hell to you think you're doing?" he asked, his tone calm but his

eyes worried. "I'm being the bait." she said, simply and tried to climb down again, but he

pulled her back up. "Are you insane?" he asked, and she shook her head.

She pulled the knife out of her back, and handed it to him. "All I have to do is

provide a moving target, then you'll be able to take them out, won't you?" she said, and

he argued. "But I won't let you－" she cut him off. "I'm not Octavia, Bellamy, I know

what I'm doing, and I trust you, don't let me down okay?" she asked, and he nodded,

reluctantly letting go of her wrists. She jumped down and took a deep breath, steeling

herself before she took off running.

Bellamy watched as Clarke took off running, and not seconds later the sound of

arrows being shot could be heard. Climbing higher, he saw that she was right, there was

a ground in a tree opposite to his, and firmly holding the knife if his hand, he threw it,

and watched it fly across the space between the two trees and hit the grounder straight

in the chest. He fell to the ground, and bled out, but Bellamy didn't care as he toyed with

the ax in his hand and dropped to the ground.

Clarke had been right in her diversion, they were all so focused on getting her that

they didn't notice him, as he wrapped his hands around the hilt of Clarke's knife and

pulled it out of the grounder's chest. Without hesitation, he threw it at the one in the

west side, and he fell to the grounder as well. Next he moved to the last grounder's tree

and stood under it, shifting the ax about in his hands before swinging it upwards and

letting it fly. The grounder fell seconds later with a grunt of pain, and Bellamy pulled his

ax out of the man's chest.

Leaving them all their, he took off running to find Clarke. He found her not far, lying

against the trunk of a tree, her her hand pressed to her side, just by her rib-cage. "Damn

it, Princess." he said, leaning down to look at her wound. He moved her hand away and

pushed her shirt up, but he couldn't get a clear look with all the blood around it, but he

knew it was deep. The arrow was in her hands, and it was obvious that she had pulled it

out from whatever angle it had hit her at. "Come on, we've got to get to the lake before you bleed out." he said, wrapping his

arms around her waist and carefully hoisting her up and into his arms. "It's —it's just a

flesh wound, it'll— it'll be fine." she said, but he doubted it. She was turned extremely

pale, and her lips were going blue from the her drop in body temperature. They found

themselves at the lake minutes later, and he laid her down on the rock, pushing the pack

off her shoulders, and lifting her shirt, but not high enough to see anything.

He took the flask and poured some of the water over the wound, to wash some of

the blood away so he could get a better look. The worst part was that he was starting to

panic: they had no medical supplies, the wound would more likely get infected if they

stayed out here and their was now way they would be able to make it back to camp in

time. "Clarke, Clarke wake up! You've got to stay with me, okay? Eyes on me, got that,

Princess?" he said, pouring some water onto her face.

Her eyes opened just a bit, but they were dazed and unfocused. "Come on, Princess,

I need your help with this." he said, patting her cheek softly to get her attention. She

blinked a few times, and opened her eyes wider. "You need to wrap the wound, tightly－

very tightly, but you have to clean it first. There's some iodine drops in my bag." she said,

and he immediately reached for her pack, filling the flask with water and adding two

drops of iodine to it.

He ripped the the bottom of his shirt off to act as a cloth as he wiped away the

blood around her wounds. When he was sure it was clean, he took off his jacket and

pulled his shirt over his head and wrapped it around her her ribs, tightly as she had said. "N-No, you'll freeze," she said, trying to push him away, but he grabbed her wrists and

stopped her. "I don't care." he said, allowing no room for argument.

Her eyes were beginning to shut, and he put his jacket back on and took the blanket

out of her back as well as the one from his and wrapped them around the both of them,

but mostly her. He moved them a little further into the shadows, and laid her down

behind her rock, before sitting down next to her and placing her head on his chest. She

was out within seconds, breathing unevenly and sometimes she'd flinch in her sleep

from the pain.

He looked down at her, and then up again at the sky. She had been right, coming out

here had been dangerous, bringing her along had been reckless and now look at them.

Lincoln would never let anything happen to Octavia, and he knew that, but he was still

trying to get used to not being the only person who kept her safe anymore. Besides that,

he realized, as he looked at Clarke again, he had others to protect as well now.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2:**_

 _ **Finn**_

Finn woke with a start as he heard a disturbance outside their tent. Raven, who had been lying on his chest, lifted her head up and leaned back on her elbows. "Let's go see what's going on." he said, and she tossed him his shirt. They had slept together again last night, but it hadn't been the same as on the Ark. A lot of things were different now— he was different now, and he wasn't even sure if he was in love with her anymore. Every time he laid down with her, he didn't see her face, but _Clarke's_ as he remembered the time they had spent together in the Art supply store.

After dressing themselves, the exited the tent and heard shouting. Murphy—who had just recently returned to camp— was facing off with Octavia. "I know where you went last night." he said, getting up into her face. She didn't even flinch as she pushed him backwards, causing him to stumble just a little. "You don't know anything, Murphy. You shouldn't even be here, and once Bellamy wakes up, you're _gone!"_ she shouted. Finn couldn't help but agree with her, ever since he had come back, four people had died because of the grounder virus he had brought in, and everyone wanted him out as soon as possible.

"That's where you're wrong—dear brother went out last night with the Doctor looking for you. They said you went looking for your grounder boyfriend." Octavia's mouth fell open, but Finn felt as of he was the one who was more surprised. Clarke had gone off with Bellamy, on their own in the middle of the night. For a second he was blinded by confusion and jealousy, until he realized Raven was still standing next to him, watching his reaction to Clarke and Bellamy's disappearance. He tried to keep his face as impassive as possible.

She knew abut his feelings for Clarke, and about what they had done before she fell to Earth. Before anyone could react to what Murphy had said, Bellamy's voice bellowed through the camp. "Everybody out of the way!" he shouted, and made his way through the crowd. He was shirtless—much to Finn's dismay— but held an conscious Clarke in his arms. The color was completely drained from her face, and her breathing was uneven; Bellamy's shirt was wrapped tightly around her rib-cage. "Octavia, Finn, Raven, the dropship, _now!"_ he shouted, and they made their way inside the dropship.

"What happened?" Raven asked, as Bellamy set Clarke onto the make-shift medical bed. "Grounders attacked us last night, she was struck with an arrow." Bellamy explained, as Octavia began gathering medical supplies from the top floor. He unwrapped his shirt from her stomach, and Finn flinched slightly as he saw the nasty cut just between her ribs. Bellamy grabbed something out of Clarke's backpack—iodine drops?—and turned to Finn. "I need some water and a rag," then he turned to Raven and said, "Can you find some bandages?" she nodded to him, and left to find them, while Finn filled a bowl of water and found some semi-clean rags.

When he got back, Octavia had handed Bellamy the medical kit they had found a few weeks ago, he Clarke was moaning as she woke up. "Whoa there, Princess," he said, holding her shoulders down as he looked into her face, "you've got to stay still okay? This is going to hurt—a lot." Finn didn't like the way Bellamy was talking to Clarke, almost as if they were friends or something; but what was worse was when Clarke—half unconscious, and pale white—nodded and gave him a small pained smile.

Bellamy dropped some of the iodine into the water to purify it, and dabbed the rag from the water to Clarke's skin as he cleaned away the dry blood. So far, it didn't look like the wound had been infected while they were out there, so Finn was grateful. "I'm going to have to stitch you up. It'll hurt." he said, as he threaded the string through the needle. "How do you know how to stitch people up?" Clarke asked, and Finn bristled. She was on table, having to be stitched up because of this idiot Bellamy, and she was just lying their and joking around with him. "Oh, I know a lot of things, Princess." he said, with a sarcastic smile, but his eyes were determined in his concentration.

Finn had to look away as her face contorted in pain as Bellamy stitched up the wound, but she never once cried out, or let a pained tear slip from her eyes, because there were none. "There's our brave Princess, huh?" Bellamy said, trying to cox her attention away from the pain. Finn wanted so badly to slap him over the head for his stupidity, but Clarke just smiled at him, as if they had a joke he didn't know about. "Since I owe you one for last night," he said, finishing the stitches and cutting the string, he placed the bandage over her wound and pulled her shirt back down, "next time—I'll be the bait."

Bellamy walked away to wash the blood off his hands with the left over purified water. Finn watched Clarke, watching him walk away, and Raven watched as he watched Clarke. Clearing her throat, Octavia squatted down by Clarke's head. "Where the hell were you? We looked for you for hours." Clarke said, her voice hoarse as she turned her head to look at Octavia. "Clarke, I'm so sorry, I went to the cave and came right back when he wasn't there. I didn't expect anyone to notice. This is all my fault." she said, motioning to Clarke's stomach.

Clarke smiled at the younger Blake sibling, and shook her head. "It's okay, and _this_ ," she said, lacing a hand on her bandage, "was not you're fault. This was due to my own stupidity." she laughed a little, until she realized it was too painful. Bellamy, who appeared behind his sister and placed his hands on her shoulders, looked at Clarke seriously. "It wasn't stupidity, Clarke, if it wasn't for you we wouldn't have made it out of there alive." he said. Finn didn't like the way he was looking at, almost as if something had changed between them last night—which he hoped wasn't true.

"We should expect even more retaliation after what happened last night, the grounders won't let this one go so easily. We need to know how to defend ourselves." Clarke said, going into leader mode under Bellamy's gaze. "She's right," Bellamy said, looking at each and every one of them, "there are children here, and people who have no idea how to fight, we need to be able to protect ourselves." Finn had to agree with them on that, "How are we going to do that?" he asked. "We start training, hand-to-hand combat and weapons, as soon as possible. They are coming for us, and we need to be ready."

 _ **Bellamy**_

It had been hours since Bellamy had announced to the camp that they would start training in two days. He told them about the attack, and how they needed to defend themselves. No one argued or opposed him, and he chalked that up wot most of them being afraid. Finn had been sitting inside with Clarke, watching her as she slept, and he couldn't help feeling a little more than annoyed with that. He remembered last night how Clarke hadn't been able to sleep because of Finn and Raven, and now he was just filling her head with mixed signals. Clarke was his friend—just barely—and it was just cruel to do what Finn was doing to her.

He looked across the camp at Raven, who was sulkily sitting be the ever growing bonfire, and staring into the flame. It was cruel for Finn to do what he was doing to both of them. As he leaning against the outside of the dropship, he suddenly heard Clarke raising her voice, and he peaked inside. " _You can't keep doing this to me, to both of us,"_ she said, and Bellamy could just imagine the look on Finn's face. " _Whatever happened between us, it ended the day she landed on Earth. I won't do this to myself and I_ won't _do this to her. She doesn't deserve it, and neither do I!"_ she said.

At first Bellamy was smiling and he had no idea why, or maybe it was because Pretty Boy had just been put into his place. That was until it seemed as if he didn't understand what Clarke was saying. "Clarke, _please,_ I can't stop thinking about you. I know that I should have told you about her, but I honestly thought I'd never see her again. Will you please stop punishing me?" he pleaded to her, and Bellamy gave a silent snort. "I'm not punishing you Finn, I'm letting you go." she said, and he heard her shift—probably turning away from him—and Finn sighed, walking out of the dropship without sparing him a second glance.

He remained standing there, until he heard her softly say to herself, " _I'm punishing myself."_ He decided that he shouldn't intrude on her privacy anymore, and went out to gather some more wood for the camp fire. He looked out at the sun setting, and he wondered how he still found it so amazing to look at a ball of gas and heat, disappear as the planet slowly spun around. Maybe it was that he'd never seen something to beautiful in his entire love, or that it reminded him of something, he just didn't know what.

 _ **Clarke**_

The sun had long since set when Bellamy decided to visit her. Clarke opened her eyes to him walking onto the platform of the dropship. "Hey," she said, as he came closer. He was holding a piece of meat on a stick, and for a second she wondered what animal it was "It's a rabbit." he said, rolling his eyes. "Skinning little bunnies? How cruel of you, Blake." she said, and he helped her to sit up and place her back against the wall, the coldness of the metal sinking through her shirt. "Sorry I didn't come to see you sooner." he said, handing her the stick and she took a bite.

"I saw pretty boy in here and thought better than to interrupt." he said, and she snorted, taking another bite out of the meat. "I wish you had," she said, as she swallowed thickly, "maybe then the awkwardness wouldn't be as profound as it actually is." He couldn't help but feel sorry for her—none of this was her fault, and she was still punishing herself for some asshole. "You know none of this was your fault right?" he said, not just referring to the incident with Finn. She stiffened, but continued to chew and swallow.

"I know." she said, not looking directly at him. "Do you really?" he asked, ducking his head to catch her gaze. She glanced up at him, and then looked down at her hands, and he could tell that she didn't believe him. They sat in silence for a while, until he got up and reached for that blankets they had taken with them last night. "Get some rest, I want you completely healed before we start training. First things first: knife throwing." he said, and she smiled at him. "It's not my fault that I have no idea how to throw a knife—I've never had any use for it." she defended herself. "Don't worry, I'll be teaching you personally." he said, and she looked at him in surprise.

"What? Think of it as a 'thank you' for saving my ass last night, _and_ I don't want the co-leader to humiliate herself in front of the entire camp due to her lack of skills." he said, giving her a mocking grin before he exited the dropship. She watched him as he walked away, and stopped right before going through the tent flap. "Goodnight Princess." he said, with a wind and she laughed as him. Snuggling herself into the blankets even further, she closed her eyes. "Night Bellamy Blake."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

 _ **Clarke**_

Since she had spent most of her time in the dropship during the second day, when Bellamy approached her later about going outside, she almost jumped up from her bed. "Careful there, Princess. We don't want to throw all my hard work to the wind now do we?" he said, and wrapped and arm around her waist and she draped her arm over his broad shoulders, and because he was taller than her, she hung awkwardly off kilter. Bellamy noticed this and bent his knees so that she could place both her feet onto the ground. "Thanks," she said, and limped along side him.

Once they were outside, Jasper came running towards them, with Monty right behind him. "Clarke! You're okay!" they said, enthusiastically and she smiled at them. "Yeah, guys, I'm completely fine— _and_ I will be training with you guys tomorrow." she said, and Monty looked at her stomach. "Are you sure you're completely fine?" he asked, and she smiled at his worried expression. "I'll be okay, Mont." she said and he nodded. Jasper and Monty walked away as Raven approached them.

Bellamy was about to steer her away from them, but she stopped him and shook her head. "It's okay." she said, and he looked at her for a few seconds before sighing. "What's up?" she asked Raven, who gave her a small smile. "I just wanted to say that I'm glad you're okay." Raven said, and Clarke felt a little surprised. Sure, Raven didn't completely hate her for what Finn and her had done, but she had never outright tried to say that she hated her. "Thank you." Clarke said, and meant it. Raven nodded and they examined each other, something seeming to shift between them. Raven was the first one to break the silence between them, "So where are you guys heading off too?" she asked.

Clarke looked at Bellamy then, curiosity getting the better of her. "The sun's setting soon. I thought Clarke would enjoy the view before the only view she'll see is an up close look at the dirt. Since, you know— I'll be beating your ass in training tomorrow." he said with a smirk, and she shoved him playfully, but when she almost stumbled back, he quickly caught her around her waist. "Next time I'll let you face plant in the dirt." he said and she rolled her eyes. Raven was looking between them with an expression close to surprise and satisfaction, but didn't say anything as their two leaders interacted.

"You guys head out, I'm just going to check if I can find a connection to the Ark." she said, giving them one final look before disappearing into the dropship. "Come on, let's go." he said, and they walked out of camp, but not before Clarke caught a glimpse of Finn, who was looking at her and Bellamy with an expression of pure disgust, and then he disappeared into the dropship.

They were quiet as the walked further into the forest, until they found the lake the had been sitting at the night before. "How are you feeling?" he asks, and she snorts. "The second Blake to ask me that today, and for the tenth time, _I'm fine._ " she said, and leaned back, rolling her jeans up and dipping her feet in the water. During the day, the lake seemed to sparkle like thousands of diamonds, the reflection of the sky on the water, made it look so blue: it was beautiful.

"I wasn't talking about you're injury, Clarke." he said, and she knew he was being serious since he had used her actual name and not 'Princess'. She sighed and looked at him, the way the sun hit his face at just the right angle that his features seemed perfectly symmetrical. She shook her head and looked back out at that water. "Why is it, that whenever we talk, you try to get me to unload my deepest, darkest feelings for things that have nothing to do with you?" she asked, maybe expecting to hear a serious answer, but of course, this was Bellamy.

"Damn Princess, I'm offended, I'm not part of you deepest darkest feelings? Wow, am I just a meat suit for you?" he asked, looking mock-offended. She rolled her eyes and ignored him and she leaned back on her elbows. They sat like that for a long time, just staring out at the water and watching as the red and orange rays of the sun warmed there skin and illuminated the sky. "Bellamy," she said, finally. "Hum...?" he asked, not looking at her, but at the sunset.

"What are we going to do?" she asked, a feeling of dread seeping through her bones. They were sitting here, enjoying a beautiful sunset, when the threat of death was hanging above their heads. The grounders were coming for them, and if they couldn't contact the Ark, she wasn't sure what she would do. When the second dropship had landed, with everyone dead, she didn't know if she should mourn her mother or not. Whether she was alive or not?

She imagined that this must have been something close to what her mother must have felt when Clarke had taken off her wrist band. Suddenly, she regretted that decision to punish her mother, because to feel this way? It was the most awful she had felt since her father had died. "About the grounders?" Bellamy asked, and she realized her had zoned out for a few seconds, but returned quickly to the conversation. Drawing her legs up, she carefully wrapped her arms and her legs and placed her cheek on her knee, facing him.

"About everything. What are we going to do about all of this?" she motioned, spreading her arms out wide to the area around them. "We've been here for three weeks and started a _war_ , we have no idea how we're going to survive, and we—the two of us—are responsible for _ninety people_." she said, feeling light headed at the realization. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down, but it didn't seem to work. "I don't know," he said, and finally looked into her eyes, "but we'll figure something out." Him saying that reminded her of how they had gotten here, to being friends, to trusting each other. When they hadn't wanted to deal with their problems, and she told him that no matter what, they'd figure it out.

"Can we figure it out later." she said, repeating the words he had told her. He looked at her as if he too, were remembering that night. Smiling slightly, he threw a pebble into the water and said, "Whatever the hell you want." She laughed a little at the, and laid her head on her knees until she felt the last rays of the sun's warmth disappear, to be replaced by the moon's still cool. "Whatever the hell _we_ want." she corrected, and he raised an eyebrows at her. "I like the sound of that." he said, and held his hand out for a fist bump. It was such an uncommon thing for someone like him that she actually laughed, but she gave him the fist bump anyway.

 _ **Bellamy**_

When they returned to camp, the flames were rising higher and higher, and the deer that had been caught was nakedly roasting on the fire. Octavia was sitting with a few other guys and girls, Monty and Jasper were having an in depth conversation, while Finn and Raven sat side by side, talking in hushed voices with their head close together. Clarke went to sit down next to Octavia, smiling at the guys and girls around her, most of them respected her, and most were treated by her.

He sat down by the dropship and watched as everyone talked about what would happened tomorrow. He knew training was a good idea— after watching Clarke use herself as bait, he didn't know if he could stomach the thought of someone else ever trying something like that. Tomorrow they would start with weapons training, a little knife throwing would be good for everyone to get their anger and frustration in check. As he folded his arms over his chest, he watched his sister, and his co-leader interact with the rest of the hundred.

For once they were smiling, and Bellamy couldn't remember the last time he had seen his sister smiling for something so carefree in the last two weeks, and Clarke. Well, Clarke hadn't caught a break since they'd gotten her, with Wells, Finn and her mother, he couldn't think of the last time she'd even smiled since before Raven had arrived. As he watched them, he noticed a different figure heading his way, and resisted the urge to roll his eyes as Finn walked up to him, a determined expression on his face.

"Is there something I can help you with?" he asked, sarcastically. He couldn't help himself, this guy was a complete asshole—breaking two girls' hearts— and he wanted to pretend he was Prince _freaking_ Charming. "Where did you take Clarke?" he asked, his anger coming through in his tone. Bellamy gave him a redundant look. "I don't see how that's any of your business." he said, rolling his eyes at Finn. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing—you're using her to get what you want, coxing her into trusting you so that you can just —" he was cut off as Bellamy shoved him into a tree and out of sight.

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about. Don't think you can lecture me about using people, when you know everything that comes out of your mouth is bullshit. You want to talk about what _I'm_ doing to Clarke, what about you huh, Pretty Boy?" he said, shoving Finn a little harder so that he stumbled backwards and almost fell. "You want to talk to me about manipulation? Go look in a fucking mirror asshole. _You're_ the one hurting Clarke, _you're_ the one who slept with her and turned around and left. Don't blame any of your fucking problems on me, because I'm just trying to be a good friend to Clarke, something you might want to consider if you ever want to get back into her good graces."

Finn just stared at him for a long time, and Bellamy could see he was having a hard time accepting the truth, but he knew he couldn't argue. Everything Bellamy had said was true, and Finn knew it— he just didn't know what _to do_ about it. "Then why?" he asked, and Bellamy sighed, feeling extremely frustrated, "Why spend so much time with her? Why care for her when there's nothing in it for you? You have your sister to take care of, but why Clarke too?" It was the most ridiculous question he had ever heard.

"Because she's Clarke, and she deserves it. She deserves more than what you're putting her through, and because she's a good enough person to believe in me, even when I didn't." he said. Finn was breathing heavily, almost like every word Bellamy said was a blow to the chest, and in someways—Bellamy realized— that maybe it was. "You're right." Finn said, and rubbed a hand over his face and through his hair. Bellamy almost felt sorry for him, but not completely as he walked away. Before he made his way back to the others, he turned back to Finn. "If you want to do something right, get your priorities straight, neither of them are going to wait for you forever."

 _ **Clark**_

Neither Bellamy or Finn had seen her, and Clarke was grateful for that. "Bellamy's words rung in her ears and she couldn't help feeling a bit validated. She had never heard anyone speak about her that way, to put so much faith into her. She watched Finn stood alone, hidden by the trees and Bellamy, who was walking over to the campfire. As she watched him, she wanted to make sure that she wasn't going to let him down anytime soon. One person believed in her fully, and for now, that seemed to be enough for her. She went back to the campfire, and sat down next to Jasper, and smiled at him, ignoring the way Bellamy glanced to the trees and then to her.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4**_

 _ **Clarke**_

Today they would start training, and Clarke didn't know where to be nervous or worried. Bellamy and Jasper had both reassured her that everything was going to be okay and their was nothing to be worried about. "I don't want to leave the camp abandoned!" she argued with Bellamy as he tried to get outside of camp. "Clarke, you are not getting out of this now. You barely know how to fight, you're going." he said, and for a second she finally knew why Octavia would get so irritated with him. His tone left no room for argument but she still felt like she had to fight him on this.

"There's no use in trying, Clarke, when he gets like this, there's no changing his mind. Trust me on this, it's better to just give up, you're trying to win a losing battle." Octavia said as she past through their conversation as she walked to the other side of the wall. "But—" she still tried to argue, but Octavia pointed a finger at her. "Trust me." she said, and turned to leave with a few others. She looked back to Bellamy who was trying to contain his smirk. "What if they destroy the camp? What if they take out our supplies? What if—" he cut her off this time. "What if a dinosaur came charging towards us, flattening us into slime and we're never to be seen again?" he said, and she punched his arm.

"I'm being serious."she said, and he laughed, "So am I?" he said. She rolled her eyes at him, and stiffened when she heard Finn's voice. "We can stay?" Finn said, with Raven at his side. Swallowing the hurt and pride in her throat, she nodded at them. "Thank you." she said, and they nodded to her. "Now that that's settled, let's go!" Bellamy said next to her, and quickly ushered her out of camp, not allowing her to look back. She knew what he was doing, and she didn't know if she should thank him or not.

"So where are we training?" she asked, her hands at her sides as she hiked after him. His long legs carried him further and faster, so she was forced to jog to keep up with him. "A clearing not to far from here, just enough open space for all of us." he said, looking at the group in front of them. All ninety people were eagerly talking to each other wondering how this was all going to go down. Clarke wondered what Bellamy would look like, using his techniques to teach them all how to fight.

They all reached the clearing in no time, when Bellamy jumped up onto what looked like a fallen tree log. "Okay, everyone listen up!" he shouted and everybody quieted down, all eyes trained on him. "Everyone in partners— Miller you're with me—and grab a stick. We won't be using actual knives in case any of you "accidently" injure the other one. Now get a partner people!" he jumped down from the log, and stood opposite Miller, while Clarke stood in front of another girl — Kennedy?— both of them with thick pieces of bark in their hands.

Bellamy would demonstrate the way you should attack—strike before your opponent has the chance, cover all entries of injury and be quick — then he would show them how to defend. He moved with quick, fluid motions that made everyone—including Clarke—stare at him in awe. "Okay I want to see you guys practicing!"he shouted and walked around to see how everyone was doing. To Clarke's surprise, Kennedy was more aggressive than she looked, and threw all her weight into her strikes. That was her problem through, she was too busy truing to throw her weight around, that she forget this was all about stealth. Clarke dodged most of her attacks, ducking and swerving out of they way, and not long after, she began to anticipate her moves. Strike right, fake left, dodge left, duck right. She took her chance and grabbed her hand twisting it behind her back, disarming her and holding her 'knife' to the girl's throat.

She was shocked about how thrilled she felt, the anticipation pumping through her veins and the adrenaline that made her head spin. The only thing she could think was, _I want to do that again!_ Kennedy looked shocked, and then slightly aggravated, she tried to lunge for her, but Clarke danced out of the way, grabbing the girl's wrist and twisting it, and grabbing the 'knife' out of her hand and placing it against her spine. "Wow, Clarke, you sure you haven't done this before?" Monty asked, as he struggled to land a hit on his opponent.

She smiled at him, but a memory at the back of her mind was worrying her. She remembered the first time she had picked up a gun with Bellamy, and the rush of excitement she felt when firing it. It should worry her, maybe even scare her, but all she felt was a still coolness running through her veins was she would fight. Like her body knew what to do, she just had to listen and let it take control. As the group rotated from partner to partner, Clarke felt that it was almost too easy to fight them. Although there were a few guys who had landed her on her back a few too many times to count.

After all they were all criminals down her, but at least there was no law.

 _ **Bellamy**_

Bellamy watched from his post as Clarke took down almost everyone of her opponents. He hadn't expected her to pick things up so easily—even if she was a fast learner. She landed about ten people on their backs, and fifteen at knife point her movements as quick as a snake as she landed blow after blow. Everyone had been going about practicing for hours, but now they were all gathered around Clarke and her new opponent, Graham. It was obvious that he was putting up a good fight, but there was no doubting the determination in Clarke's eyes at this point.

He lunged for her, but she ducked just in time, but he caught her forearm and she struggled under his grip, but it wasn't until afterward that he realized she had her 'knife' at his side, and laid down a killing strike. She was grinning as his face fell and he realized that she had actually beaten him. He decided to make things more interesting, as he jumped down from his post and pushed his way through the crowd. "Now why don't we make things interesting?" he said, when he was standing in front of her.

He wore a mocking smile on his lips, and she looked at him wearily. "Oh, come on Princess, one little duel with me won't do you any harm." he said, but she still wasn't buying it. He raised his eyebrows and watched her as she contemplated this decision. Rolling her shoulders back, she squared them and tilted her chin up. "Let's do this then." she said, and everybody cheered. This was probably the most entertainment they'd had since Unity Day.

He made the first move, as he faked grabbing for her arm, but she ducked in the other direction, and he easily caught her. He could have beaten her then, but he let her go, and she squared her shoulders again, trying to land the first shot but he danced around her and caught her in a head lock with one hand and a knife to her ribs with the other. Still, he let her go again and he could see the frustration in her eyes, especially since she knew there was no way of beating him, but she was going to try.

She went for a different approach as she lunged right grabbing for his knife, and he tried to catch her in a headlock but she ducked under his arm and twisted it behind his back, holding a knife to his throat. He grinned up at her, but just like he did, she let him go. Of course, she had to have known that this was a mistake, when he immediately caught her waist with his arms and brought her over his shoulder, and knocking her flat on the ground, the air leaving her lungs abruptly.

People cheered and booed, as she coughed and glared up at him. He grinned and shrugged down at her, as she didn't even bother to get up. "Alright, everybody back to camp! Start patrols!" he shouted, and watched as they all made their ways through the trees and back to the camp. He looked down at her, still lying on the ground glaring up at him: he smirked. "Did you really think you would be able to beat me, Princess?" he asked, but still she said nothing, not even bothering with his outstretched hand as she pulled herself up.

She scowled at him, brushing past him briskly as she started to make her own way back to camp. "Oh come on, you can't get mad about that!" he called, spreading his arms out beside him. She didn't bother looking back as she took off in a run to the direction of the river, and he quickly took off after her. _Damn, for someone with such short legs, she was fast,_ he thought as he ran a few paces behind her—well until she disappeared into the trees and he pulled to an abrupt halt.

"Clarke?" he called out, and looked around, trying to find any sign of where she had gone. It was obvious that she was playing him, but it was almost dark and he knew she couldn't risk getting caught in the cross-fires of another grounder attack. "Clarke, this isn't funny get back here!" he shouted, and it felt almost as if she were laughing at him somewhere—which no doubt she probably was. _Damn it, when he found her, he was going to kill her,_ he thought as he silently cursed the little blonde haired pixie.

The was a _crack_ behind him and immediately he grabbed her wrist, twisted her arm so that he held his arm across her chest and the other arm behind her back. "Now that was pathetic, and _not_ funny." he said, but to his dismay she was laughing as he held her like that, and he realized this had all been an elaborate joke she had been playing him. "How is it we always end up here?" she said, jutting her chin out towards the lake that was not too far away. He smiled despite himself and let her go, shaking his head.

"That was not funny—I can't believe you'd do something so reckless." he said, his turn at getting angry at her. She rolled her eyes at him, but he could see the small smile tugging on her lips. "Be careful, Blake, you almost sound like you care." she said, and jogged off towards the lake. With a sigh he followed after her, and stopped just by the river bank. She was already taking off her shoes and rolling up her jeans to dip her feet in the water.

"You know, I'm actually surprised that you haven't grown flippers or a tail with all the time you spend in contaminated water." he said, and she gave him a look saying she had been stealthily dodging that thought for a while now. He held his hands up and surrender and sat down on the rock, looking up at her where she stood with her foot hovering under the water, and her arms out to keep her balance. "You did good today." he said, gazing up at her and she splashed some water around with her foot. "I'd like to think I did better than 'good', Blake." she said, cockily and titled her head to the side as she looked at him. "Where did the sudden fascination with my last name happen?" he asked, and she sat down next to him, and stretched her arms out in front of her.

"Would you like me to call you 'Bell' like Octavia, because if that's what you want, I'm happy to oblige." she said, and laughed as he nudged her painfully in her ribs with his elbow. "Would you be able to oblige me in other ways?" he asked, and this time it was her turn to nudge him. She did one better as she scooped up water in her palm and through it at him. The shocked look on his face was enough to make her die from laughter, as she almost did before feeling the cold droplets of water down her back.

"Oh, you didn't." she said, and he grinned at her as he got up and tried to back away. She quickly stood up and used her foot to splash the water onto his retreating back. He stopped suddenly and turned to face her, a somewhat murderous look in his eyes, but she wasn't alarmed, if anything she was even more amused. "You really shouldn't have done that." was all he said, and he started splashing her with water, wetting everything from her hair to her clothes.

She smirked at him and she pulled off her jeans and shirt, jumping into the water with only her underwear on. He was standing frozen by the lake as she came back up, and started splashing him, making him even wetter. It took him a few seconds to recovers and he too strip and jumped into the water. It was chilly and made goosebumps rise on her skin, and there was no doubt that she would probably get sick later, but as they fought with water and laughter rumbled across the river's surface, she couldn't have felt any better.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

 _ **Raven**_

Raven felt a deep satisfaction as she stood between the trees, watching Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin splashing around in the water. Sure she felt bad that she was going to have to tell Finn that Clarke was someone else's princess now. As she watched the two leaders pulling their clothes onto their wet clothes onto their bodies, she couldn't help thinking that this was the most appropriate timing for her to show Finn that he still needed her, especially now that his princess had fled with another knight—who just happened to be the person Finn hated the most.

As she turned back to camp and started jogging, she was thinking about the way she was going to break the news to the boy whom she'd loved since they were kids. She remembered when he mother had been floated, and she'd been left all alone, and the only person in the universe who even gave a shit about her was her next door neighbor, Finn. She wasn't going to let the little blonde girl steal him away from her, even if she had saved both of their lives—multiple times. As the wall came into few she saw Finn standing and waiting, but it wasn't for her.

He had an almost smile on his face—the smile she had seem countless times aimed at her and only her to show his love—but it wasn't for her. As she turned around, she watched as Clarke emerged from the trees with a soft smile on her face—Raven's lips curled upwards as she looked back to Finn, whose own smile had substantially grown. That was, until it fell off completely slipped off his face and his eyes showed surprise and hurt. She turned back around, and saw that the person Clarke had been smiling it, hadn't been Finn—it was Bellamy.

He too, emerged from the trees with a small grin on his face, exposing the dimples on his cheeks, and his dark hair tumbling across his forehead and into his eyes. They were talking about something, but neither Raven nor Finn were able to hear what they were saying, and when they came closer and noticed the two of them standing their and watching, the immediately sealed their lips and a resigned look appeared on Clarke's face, and a slightly annoyed and angered one appeared on Bellamy's. They passed by without a word, as Bellamy went to look for his sister and Clarke went to the dropship.

Raven walked into camp, side by side with Finn, who was obviously trying his best not to speak to her. As they came closer to their tent, he grabbed her for arm and dragged her inside. "What do you think you're doing?" he said, not loud enough for any one to hear but her. "I don't know what you're talking about." she said, with a shrug but their was no way he was letting this go when Clarke was involved. "Cut the bullshit, Raven. I know that you followed them, what I don't know is why?" he asked, but she knew that he already knew the answer to his own question.

"I just wanted to show you that you're precious _Princess_ belongs to someone else now, so get over it!" she said, and he winced as if she slapped him. "Who, Bellamy? I don't think Clarke would be stupid enough to fall for him." Finn said, but even he heard the uncertainty in his own words. "Oh, really? So you just go on all night missions with all your friends? You go an watch the sunsets and splash around in the river do you?" Raven she was saying.

He shook his violently, the hair that she had always loved running her fingers through, shaking as he did so. "No, Clarke knows what she's doing. Sure their friends but they would never—" he was ranting and Raven couldn't take much more of it. "Finn enough! Open your eyes, god damn it! It's already happening and their is nothing you can do about it, you're just going to have to accept it." even as she said the words, she knew their was no way that he was just going to forget about her. Their were so many things that had happened between him and Clarke, things she didn't want to think about—things she didn't want to know.

"Raven, I'm sorry," he said, his eyes pleading with her to understand how he felt, but she didn't think she would ever now how he felt, "but I can't." Every time she had seen him since she learned what had happened with him and Clarke, she felt sick to her stomach, betrayed and most of all—hatred. She hated Clarke for what she had done to her—it had been indirectly, but it had still happened. She had ruined the one good thing about her life and not even thought twice about it. Even if she hadn't known Raven existed, even if they had both been feeling lost and alone in the world, she would still hate her.

"Well then maybe you should try harder." she said, and left him alone in the tent as she walked out, but to her dismay, walked right into the chest of Bellamy Blake. "What where you're going little girl, most of us aren't so forgiving." he said, but she had a distinct feeling that he wasn't talking about her bumping into him, he wasn't even talking about this moment. No, Bellamy Blake was giving her a warning, and she wondered if she should be bothered enough to take it.

 _ **Finn**_

Finn felt like he was being pulled in two, ripped apart and he didn't know what to do about it. Raven was beginning to hate him, and he didn't know if he entirely cared or not. Then there was Clarke, who just happened to be spending more and more of her time with Bellamy these days, and Finn—well he was just left in the dust. He wanted to hate Bellamy, hell he probably did, but there was no denying the fact that he was right and what Finn was doing to these two girls was terrible. He loved Raven, but was wasn't so sure if he was in love with her anymore.

There was one thing he couldn't stand and that was Bellamy and Clarke. He knew he had no special claim on her and he didn't try to, but he imagined that this must be somewhat close to what Raven must have been feeling when she came down here, and that only made him hate himself even more for putting her through this. He needed to make up his mind, and being here—surrounded by all the people he had done wrong—was definitively not going to help him with that. He had to leave, to clear his head.

He pushed away the flap to his tent and almost walked straight into Clarke, who had been carrying a bucket of water to the campfire. "Sorry," he mumbled, thankful that the bucket provided some space between them. He would admit that he couldn't stop thinking about her no matter how hard he tried, heck he'd even admit that he had imagined various scenarios where she had chosen him and he had fought for her, but those were just his imagination and the reality was that he had made a huge mistake and he had no way of knowing how to fix it. "How are you?" he asked, after clearing his throat and purposefully looking away from her. He couldn't stand to look at her, into those eyes that had once held so much affection for him, but now they just held haunted shadows and guilt.

"How do you think, Finn?" she responded, and he winced. He couldn't help remembering his conversation with Bellamy last night, and how right he had been—even if Finn would never admit it out loud. "I'm sorry." he said, reciting what seemed to be his motto these days when it came to women. "You seem to be saying that a lot lately." she resorted, angrily and made to walk away from him, but he caught her arm and looked into her eyes. There was nothing there for him—no affection, no love and worst of all, there was no forgiveness— and he knew, he _knew_ that this was probably the best time to let her go. Right here and right now, but...

He didn't—he couldn't—just leave it like this. He cared too much for her, more than she would ever believe but he did, and he was going to fight for her, even if it was against Bellamy Blake. When he didn't say anything more, she let out a frustrated sigh, and jerked her arm out of his grip, careful not to spill any water, and walked towards the fire, where she was met with the other girls from camp. "You just couldn't let well enough be, could you?" a voice said behind him, and he scowled at Octavia Blake.

"This is none of your business." he said, harshly but she just rolled his eyes. "He is my brother and she is my friend, don't think you can ruin this, because I will end you." she said, and it was obvious where he thoughts were about her brother and Clarke, and he could not have hated her more for it. As he walked away, he had this strange urge to rip her throat out, but he controlled himself and kept walking until he was at the exit. "Where are you going?" Raven asked, a brisk tone in her voice as she watched him.

"I just need to clear my head— _alone."_ he put emphasis on the word 'alone' as he walked away, and left her standing in the dust.

 _ **Bellamy**_

As he watched Finn walk away from Raven, he could not have felt more annoyed than in that moment. The resignation on Raven's face as well as the tenseness in Clarke's shoulders made him want to rip the boy's arm off. He might not have particularly liked Raven, but to see someone treated and disregarded like that was something he was fairly used too, and he knew how it felt. He felt empathy for her, but besides that, there was nothing more. "What did you say to him?" He asked his sister as she walked up to him and they stood side by side. "Nothing that concerns you." she said, and it was obvious she was still angry about him and Clarke going out to look for her.

"I'm sorry Octavia, but with the recent attack who can't blame me for being worried." he said, looking down at her as her face softened, but there were still enough hard lines to show that he wasn't completely forgiven. "Next time, just make sure you don't get someone nearly killed, or else we'll be left with no doctor." she said. "How would you know I'd bring Clarke along next time?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at his sister. "Please big brother, you'll only realize by the time you're half dead, and even then you'd still be a stubborn bastard." she said, and walked away. He watched her go, knowing what she meant but not wanting to believe it.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6:**_

 _ **Clarke**_

The next morning she wanted to rip Bellamy's throat up. Watch that smirk disappear from his face and maybe trip him down this goddamn mountain. He had casually strode into her tent this morning and threw her backpack at her, with a flask of clean water and told her to finish up quickly. Of course, she hadn't known what he was planning, but this was Bellamy, she had thought, there was nothing he could do that would annoy her even more than he already did. She was wrong—she was oh so very wrong. Hiking, freaking hiking.

She should have known better than to trust a former guard. In shape and with a holy than righteous attitude, she should have anticipated this from him. Now she could do a lot of things, stitching up wounds, beating people up, and maybe even her good share of running, but she hated hiking with a passion. Sure, when they had tried to get to Mount Weather, it had been one hell of a journey, but this was different. She was trekking through the forest, higher and higher until she felt like her knees were going to buckle at any time.

"Tell me again, why we're doing this?" she asked, out of breath and sweating. Bellamy, who was strides ahead of her, turned back to look at her and rolled his eyes. "You need to have endurance, Princess. Or they'll out last you." he said, and continued. Curse his long legs, and his ability to not be winded, or maybe she was just extremely unfit. "But hiking? Seriously?" she said, and knew she was whining, but all she really wanted was to lie down and maybe jump into the river. "Come on, no complaining." he said, and fell back a few steps to grab her elbow and hoist her upright as they walked.

He kept a tight hold on her as the walked, and it wasn't until they reached the end of the mountain and found themselves at the mouth of a cave, did he let her go. She threw herself onto the ground and took the flask out of her pocket and took a big sip. The cool water soothed her burning throat, and she let out a long breath and put a hand to her forehead. It was too hot here—she shrugged off her jacket and shirt, exposing the skin of her arms and neck to the humid air.

"I'm going in." he said, and dropped his backpack, ducking as he entered the cave. "Yeah, have fun with that." she said sarcastically, and let her head fall back against the cool rock. She closed her eyes, the heat making her head pound and she groaned out loud, throwing her arm over her face. A few minutes went by, and Bellamy still hadn't come out of the cave, he was a big boy, he could handle himself. She scrunched down lower and yawned. She had no idea how long they had been out here, but she was glad that she had given the campers something to do before they left.

Finn hadn't looked at her that morning, and she wondered if she should be relieved or disappointed that he was giving up to easily. Bellamy's words from two nights ago strung rung in her ears and pounded through her veins: _because she's Clarke, and she deserves it...she's a good enough person to believe in me even when I didn't..._ she had watched Finn walk away after that, not knowing what to say because it was true.

Did she believe it though? That she deserved such belief? She was pondering this when she realized that Bellamy had been gone for too long. "Bellamy?" she called, moving her body so that she could see into the gave, but all that met was a vast darkness. "Bellamy?!" she shouted this time, and used the rock to help steady herself as she stood up. She walked a few feet into the gave when she heard a crunching noise and came to a halt. "This better not be a joke, or I swear I'll give you to the grounders myself!" she shouted, but there was still no answer. She was starting to worry—even if it was for this asshole—and went further into the cave.

It wasn't until the light from outside was a distant gaze and she was surrounded by a dripping noise—probably water leaking somewhere—and a darkness that made her wonder if she really even wanted to see what was around her. The sound of boots slapping against rock caught her attention, and before she could turn, she was knocked to the ground, a hard body covering her own. Bellamy didn't look at her as he braced his elbows on the sides of her head. "What's going—?' she wanted to ask, but he cut her off with a shush.

The sound of voices made her eyes widen, and she had to hold in the gasp that almost slipping out. Bellamy gave her a look, and just to he sure, covered her mouth with his hand. "I saw them come through this way." a gruff voice said, and the sound of twigs snapping made her jump. Besides Lincoln, she had never been close to a grounder, and she would admit that right now she was terrified. "I saw the boy—their _leader."_ another said, more femininely.

"And what of the girl?" the gruff one asked, and if Clarke didn't know any better, she'd think she was shaking. "I did not see her, but with the boy here, she cannot be far behind. Find her, the elders would like to see her before the bury her alive." the woman said, and Clarke squeezed her eyes shut. There had been many times when she was afraid for her life, when they'd come down here, when the grounders had attack, but she had never been scared like this.

 _ **Bellamy**_

They stayed like that for a while after the two grounders left the cave. He could still feel Clarke shaking beneath him, her eyes closed and trying—but failing—to breath in deeply. He knew she was trying to calm herself down, so he rolled off of her, but grabbed her shoulders and pulled her to his chest. "Shh...they're going." he said, and rocked back and forth, trying to soothe her the way he had done with Octavia every time the inspectors had left their pod. He repeated the same words he had said to his sister many times when she thought they were going to take her away. Words he had said as they pulled her away from him to to prison.

"It's okay, I'm not going to let them take you. You're going to be fine." as he said, the words, her shudders slowly died down, but not completely. So focused she had been on keeping them all alive, sacrificed and put their needs before her own, and now. He didn't think she had ever bothered to stop and think about what might happen to her, what would happen if the grounders ever did catch up them. He didn't want to wonder about it either, because after what they had done to Murphy for just trespassing, he couldn't stomach what they would do to Clarke.

"Come on," he said, and lifted her up so that she was looking into his eyes—she looked to scared and haunted, "I want to show you something." he helped her up, until she was standing upright, but he didn't let go of her. He kept his arms around her shoulders as he guided her back to the entrance of the gave, and he only relaxed a little, when she leaned her head against his chest because she was too short to reach his shoulders. "I'm being ridiculous, it's nothing." she said, as she tried to pull away from his grip, but he just held on tighter.

"It's not nothing, Clarke. We've had threats made on us as a whole—this, it's personal. They threatened _you."_ he said, and shook her as of telling her it was okay to freak out. When they exited the mouth of the cave, he let her go and grabbed the knife out of his backpack. " Come here," he motioned for her to walk to him with his head, and she slowly made her way over to where he was standing. "I want _you,_ to throw _this,"_ he held up the knife in his hand for her to see, "at that tree over there."

She looked at him like he had lost his mind, but didn't object as he placed the hilt in her palm, and she closed her fingers around it. If felt light, but also heavy, the metal gleaming at her in the sunlight as she raised her head to the tree not a few feet away. She took a deep breath, lifted her arm and threw. It was a clumsy, unfocused throw that she might have been embarrassed about at any other time, but right now she just felt relieved. It had hit the tree, but not on mark and it didn't stick either.

Bellamy retrieved the knife, and he didn't look the least bit disappointed. "I'll show you how to throw it." he said, and took her by the shoulders and moved her in front of the target. "Straight back, feet apart," he gently kicked against her ankles to she'd move them apart, " _look, focus_ on the spot you want to hit. Put on foot slightly behind the other—good. Now, lift you arm," she lifted her arms too high, and he took her elbow, lowering it, and moving her shoulders so that her torso wasn't facing the target, "it's all about wrist movement," he said, moving the wrist of he hand she held the knife in, his other hand still on her shoulder and his mouth at her ear, "now take a deep breath and hold it. Now, let it out as you let the knife go."

He took a step back and watched as she twisted, held her arm up, took a deep breath, letting it out as she flung the knife at the target, the air leaving her lungs in a sharp _whoosh_ was she flicked her wrist. She made a sound of disbelief as it hit the target and stayed stuck in the bark of the tree. "I did it." she said, with a smile forgetting about being afraid. "You did." he said, pulling the knife from the tree, but he hadn't turned back to her yet, when she asked him a question.

"Did you mean it when you said that you wouldn't let them take me?" she asked him, and he placed a hand on the tree to steady himself. He couldn't make himself turn to look at her when he answered—not because he was lying—because if he did, she'd see the emotion in his eyes,too much emotion that he knew she wouldn't be able to handle. She'd run, and he couldn't let her do that. "Of course, I mean it Clarke." Clarke—not _Princess_ —because he was deadly serious.

As he turned around, he was promptly shoved into the tree, her hands around his waist and her head buried in his chest. He was so surprised that for a minute he didn't know how to react and just stood there in shock. "This is supposed to be the part where you hug me back." she chuckled, and he felt it vibrate through her chest on his own. He slowly wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and leaned his chin down onto the top of her head. He felt something beating in his chest, and he didn't know if it was her heart or his, but he didn't want to know. Something was changing—something had already changed—here, and he wasn't sure how to handle it. The one thing he knew for sure, there was no running. He wasn't going to let them take her—there wasn't a place on this ruined earth where he wouldn't find her.


End file.
